3 Things That Makes Walmart.com Better Than Amazon

Walmart, the king of retail is yet to catch up with Amazon, the unprecedented leader of ecommerce in terms of just about everything, be it the scope of product categories, unique visitors or even volume of sellers for that matter. However, with its speedy ascendance to the #2 spot after Amazon in the USA itself, the marketplace has displayed ample potential for ecommerce sellers to consider it as a part of their multichannel endeavors.

Here are 3 good reasons to back the decision of any seller to consider Walmart.com not just as a part of their multichannel selling but also as a suitable substitute for Amazon…

You can access readymade multichannel integration solution at the very onset –

Whether you have to connect your Walmart store with your shopping cart or other ecommerce marketplaces, you can instantly access readymade solutions made available by official third party ecommerce solution developers. At present, solutions involving top performing marketplaces as well shopping cart solutions like Walmart Magento Jet.com integration etc. are readily available with the latter.

The marketplace is not for everyone –

No… this is not as sad as it sounds. All thanks to the fact that this marketplace is not open for everyone, you can make the most of low competition and gain a quick route to visibility before millions of target buyers without having to try too hard. This is a treat you may never experience in Amazon.

Walmart marketplace fee structure is comparatively easy to understand –

unlike Amazon which is practically an incomprehensive web of fees, Walmart fee structure is comparatively easy to understand and accept.

Besides this, high quality Walmart API integration system allows sellers to connect with alternative order completion and management systems like FBA while ensuring that possible drawbacks associated with the same (like FBA inventory control, calculating fee and profits etc) are addressed automatically.

Why your eBay store sales dropped? 7 Possible reasons

Ups and downs are the normal cycle of every business. However, if yours’ is going down continuously, you better get serious and make some immediate changes to your strategy.

Launching an online store isn’t difficult today. Cutting a decent profit margin amid the high market competition and more demanding customers is a task that many new online vendors are failing in.

Are you an eBay seller?

If you’re experiencing a sudden drop in your eBay selling and the revenue, there might be plenty of reasons behind that. First, don’t panic! Second, identify the factor behind the unexpected fall. And third, get to working to solve the problem.

Here are 7 possible reasons behind the sudden dip in your eBay sales-

1.       You’ve spread out your attention to different marketplaces

Ebay selling isn’t easy—not at least for the new vendors. There’s a lot to think about and a lot to take care of. You need to invest sufficient amount of your time to do well. If you’ve recently started selling on other marketplaces and storefronts, chances are your eBay store isn’t getting as much of your time and attention to maintain a persistent sales rate.

Don’t stop selling on other stores altogether. Start using multi-channel e-commerce software solution. It helps you handle all the digital activities of marketplaces, webstores and comparison search engines under single roof, right from real time inventory management and order fulfillment to feed optimization and products setup.  

2.       You’re not marketing

Marketing outside eBay is one of the biggest secrets of top and successful eBay sellers—something that many new online vendors fail to understand. Marketing is a key that attract new customers, address their needs and drive sales. And it’s not a one-time thing. If you’re not marketing your eBay products on other social media platforms, no wonder you aren’t making the desired return.

Today, Facebook has emerged to be a perfect platform for the online vendors. You can easily integrate your eBay store with your Facebook fan page and not only make more sales but also communicate to the audience in two-way form to build store loyalty.

3.       eBay (or Google) changed its algorithm

One of most common reasons behind an abrupt drip in your eBay store sales is that the marketplace has dynamically changed its algorithm. While eBay continuously updates its metrics, its cascading effect is bigger if the change ‘behind the curtain’ is big. Same applies if you get most of your traffic on landing page from search engines. Maybe Google has updated its algorithm?!

There’s less you can do here. Just follow the latest developments. Listen to the guidelines of eBay and make changes accordingly. And most importantly, don’t try to trick the system. Use a good eBay listing software.

4.       You haven’t optimized your eBay store in recent times

You won’t make sale on eBay out of chances and lucks. You need to make evident efforts to get in front of the shoppers—and that, you need to do regularly. Optimizing your store is important. If you haven’t updated the details on your e-shop recently, maybe that’s the reason why your products’ visibility has decreased and your sales have plunged.

So get to your seller dashboard right away, update your product descriptions and titles with new (and appropriate) keywords; make proper use of custom categories and pages; create sensible navigation system.  

5.       You’re not analyzing your sales performance

Knowing why and how your sales were once high is important to continue with the same strategy. Why do you think experts always suggest to analyze your sales performance and customer data?! If you can’t remember the last time you went through a pile of data before making any important decision for your eBay store, maybe that’s the reason why you’re experiencing a dip in your revenue.

While eBay offers plenty of data to help you improve your sales, making their sense could be a tad difficult if you aren’t known for your analytical prowess. Having a good e-commerce software solution by your side with their insightful and easy-to-understand calculus report can be a great idea.

6.       You’re over-expecting

A rather simple reason why you aren’t making a decent amount of sales is because you’re clearly over-expecting. In fact, this is one of the biggest problems of new online vendors. Wowed by selective success stories, they enter the scene with unrealistic plans and dreams—only to face the reality in due course. So if you entered the market with delusional expectations, chances are your current sales rate is just about right with eBay standards.   

7.       You’re trying to do everything all by yourself

You’re not a pro seller; or maybe you are. But the fact is, trying to handle everything all by yourself, without any third-party help, is a recipe for disappointment. At the backend of your eBay stores and other webstores, there’s a lot to take care of; you might not be proficient in all of them. Outsourcing or hiring professional help to assist you with multi-channel inventory management, feed optimization and order fulfillment is more of an investment than an expense.

So if there’s a drop in your eBay store’s return, maybe it’s time to stop being a ‘lone wolf’ and have someone much more proficient by your side.    

These are 7 possible reasons why your eBay store sale is going down. Do a bit of research, identify the right reason, solve it and get your business back on track. 

4 Reasons Why FBA Is Still The Best Order Completion Solution

Of late, a host of sellers in Amazon and other marketplaces have expressed their doubts about FBA as a truly reliable and profitable order completion solution. In all honesty, there is no denying the fact that…

-          FBA is not applicable to all products that are saleable in ecommerce marketplaces,

-          it does cost significant amount of expenses (often upfront) and

-          there is every possibility for users of this system to lose track of their inventory any time of the day.

However, if you take a closer look at the Amazon FBA system, there is every reason to believe that this is still the best and the most remarkable order completion system that any e commerce sellers can access at this very moment. Here are 4 good reasons to validate this claim…

• Firstly, FBA offers complete relief from the nitty gritty of order completion that includes packing, shipping and delivering with an assurance of flawlessness. With FBA working in your favor, all you will need to do for order completion is to send your stock to FBA warehouses and leave the rest comfortably to the system to handle.
  
  
• Secondly, if the Buy Box matters to you, FBA should be your next best friend. Considering the fact that Amazon is in charge of your inventory once you subscribe to FBA, the marketplace will do its bit to push your products over and above that of competitors. Featuring in the buy Box will thus become an easy possibility.
  
  
• Thirdly, with Amazon FBA you will gain access to Prime subscribers, and there could be nothing more joyous in terms of instant profitability than this.
  
  
• Fourthly, with FBA, hassles associated with returns and customer service is always handled by Amazon. This eases a massive part of an otherwise trying situation that no seller in sane mind would love to shoulder. 

Become A Successful Walmart Marketplace Seller In 3 Simple Steps

Walmart.com is an all inclusive marketplace that has currently developed profitable places for all types of sellers. However, to guess that all types of sellers can actually succeed in this platform to an extent that they may have expected, would be wrong. It takes a whole lot of strategizing and planning from the first day on, only to be in the tracks of growth and profits.

So, when it comes to answering how to become a Walmart marketplace retailer, here are 3 simple steps that need thorough consideration at the earliest…

List items that buyers look for in Walmart – Walmart is a very different platform than Amazon or eBay. Here, the crowd usually comes in to avail everyday basics at the lowest prices. Therefore, if you deal with high end brands and associated products, Walmart.com may not be a very fertile platform for you. On the other hand, if you are a seller of good quality kitchen mops at the lowest prices, the world could be at your feet. 

Set up and integrate with the assistance of professionals – Competition levels in Walmart is growing by the day and cannot be taken for granted any more. Using professional assistance for set up and integration can help with quicker launch and error free selling which is a treat that no Walmart enthusiast should resist. Ecommerce solution developers offering high quality integration services for marketplace and shopping carts like MagentoeBay integration etc can be approached for the purpose. 

Always respect lowest price assurance of this platform to feature in high ranking – Walmart.com assures the lowest prices in all products to all buyers. It is thus imperative for sellers to respect and maintain the lowest price assurance in their Walmart listing. Walmart further expects that all multichannel sellers pay special attention to not allowing their prices for the same product to decrease in other platforms in comparison with Walmart. This is one of the best ways to stay in the good books of this platform. 

5 unexpected problems new online sellers face—and their simple solutions

With big dreams, grand ideas and peaking enthusiasm do many people venture the online retail industry. However, expectations built on exaggerating numbers and all the hype, their journey starts taking unexpected turns in just few weeks. And needless to say, since new in the market, they find themselves lost and clueless, with less motivation to continue.

To help you bring your castle hanging loose to the ground, here are 5 unexpected problems of new online sellers that you should expect in your coming days (yes, we give you the solutions too)- 

1.       Underselling- This is the most common and obvious problem. You expect to have customers flock to your store but that doesn’t happen. And your large inventory stays just like that with limited sales on selected days. Simple solution is, whether you’re selling on Walmart marketplace or on eBay, optimize your store according to the guidelines of that platform and spend more time in marketing. 
2.       Overselling- This inventory management related problem is real and can be a give a major headache to the retailers. Selling on multiple platforms, that calls in for loads of manual work, almost always leads to overselling- selling more than what’s available. Avoid this easily by using e-commerce solution that offers multi-channel real-time inventory management.  
3.       Spending too much time on less-important tasks- Whether you sell on eBay, Amazon, Walmart or any marketplace, there’s a lot to manage at the technical end—tasks that, at times, are rather less-important than say marketing and customer acquisition; be it manually listing products on individual platforms or updating titles and descriptions. Again, simple solution is rely on e-commerce solution that allows to manage everything under single roof. 
4.       Battling competitors- On any marketplace, unless you’re offering something eccentric, competition is fierce. And many new retail players undermine this. You don’t do that! Research on market competition; don’t worry but learn from your successful competitors. Also, have a micro approach; don’t target every consumer base, focus on one or two for better conversion. 
5.       Complaining customers- Even when you’re selling the best products, you are bound to face few angry customers, on review section, social media platforms and through emails, who are never seemed to be satisfied. Don’t reply them in the same tone. Address their issues with politeness and modesty. And if things go out of control, end the deal with a sincere apology. 

These are 5 unexpected problems new online retailers often face. So if you sell on eBay, Amazon, Walmart or any other marketplace, expect these difficulties before they block your path ahead.  

9 non-regular tips for online sellers to make desired sales

Starting your online store, selling to millions of potential customers and making riches—the idea is as lucrative as it gets that has pulled millions towards it. However, we aren’t living in a lala land and things are easier said (and thought) than done.

Making sales on marketplaces is difficult. You’re no less than a small fish in an ocean. And to come out victorious, with higher traffic and sales, you need to do something different than others; something smart.

So here are 9 not-so-regular ways for online sellers to break away the boundaries of low revenue and stride towards a desired profit-

1.       Don’t sell on every marketplace- Trying to be everywhere is never a good idea. So avoid being on every marketplace. Pick one that suits your products and business needs. However, of course, being on few top ones like Marketplace Walmart, Amazon and eBay is often important.  

2.       Have a focused approach- Regardless what you’re selling, don’t focus on and target everyone. Segregate the consumers into different groups and target the selected ones who are more likely to buy from you at the desired price range.

3.       Be extra careful of the delivery- Shipping is one important factor of customers’ satisfaction. So be careful here. Free delivery always converts well. You can also opt for e-commerce platforms taking care of your shipping; like with Amazon, you can go with its Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) option.

4.       Engage with target audience on Social media- If you directly communicate with your target audience, you would automatically sell better than the ones who don’t. So use Facebook, Twitter and other social platforms effectively to connect with the potential customers personally.

5.       Take care of SEO- Always have an open eye to Search Engine Optimization when listing your products. Do keywords research and be careful when writing titles and product descriptions. Also have a good content strategy.

6.       Spend on marketing- If you want to do better than your successful competitors, you need to spend on marketing. So reach your target audience via paid adverts. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter has made advertising relatively easier, cheaper and highly converting with micro-targeting approach.  

7.       Bank on this festive season- End and beginning of the year are always a great time for the online sellers. So bank on this festive season. Analyze well the market trend, customers’ needs and most importantly their budget.

8.       Push to get reviews- Getting good reviews has become more important today than ever, with buyers prioritizing others’ experience more. So don’t just sit tight and hope. Push your customers to review your products; reply to their queries and thank them for good words.

9.       Make use of Multi-channel e-commerce software- For online sellers, there’s a lot to take care of and a lot to handle manually. This has made using multi-channel e-commerce software solution very important for them. The software integrates Amazon seller and other marketplaces, webstores and comparing shopping engines together, helping sellers manage all backend tasks on a single platform quickly and conveniently.

These are 9 simple, definite and non-cliché tips to help online sellers give a boost to theirsales for a desired profit.  

4 Steps To Profitable eBay Listing

The sole reason why you would want to focus on the best approach to ecommerce listing, is your motivation to gain maximum visibility, growth and profits in the minimum possible time. When the marketplaces in concern are Amazon and eBay, your very survival could depend upon how you listed your products in this over competitive platforms. Mere basics will never be good enough anymore, especially when you are an eBay Amazon store owner.

Following are 4 primary steps to productive listing that must be ensured at the very onset of selling practices…

Market fitness

This refers to choosing popular products within your category that are in demand with buyers unique to these marketplaces. It does not take very long to conduct a search for the same before carrying out listing efforts. A day or two and often a thorough couple of hours could be good enough for the purpose.

Optimize

Optimization of listing is not a choice any more. It is more of an urgency which is critical for the sake of gaining any level of visibility at all. Inauthentic optimization strategies like keyword stuffing in product titles etc, are practices that can win the boot from Amazon and eBay. Focusing on organic listing practices with the assistance of tools and softwares is the call of the day. Seeking professional assistance for the purpose can lead to long term advantages including maintenance of high ranking and traffic.

Strategize

Amazon eBay listing strategy basically refers to designing a package that is just as compatible with the buyers as it is with the search engines of the respective marketplaces.  It includes proper naming of the products, accurate descriptions for the same, perfect and ample images of the product, pricing the same competitively and topping it with additional advantages like free shipping, extended return period etc. If you land with a functional strategy, you can be rest assured that the odds will always rest in your favor even through the toughest of times.